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Having the drive of my life
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Paul Talbot grabs the chance
to get behind the wheel of a
rally car – and comes away
with a smile on his face.
I was invited to experience a rally session at Dave Hawkins'
rally school near Bythorn in Lincolnshire. I had to be there for a 9am start and was advised that it's a rule that's strictly enforced. So, with an overnight stop booked at Scunthorpe, the trek across the Lincolnshire countryside in what was to become a seriously hot day, was an easy one following Dave's clear directions. We'd gone in our latest test car, a Toyota RAV 4, but more of that later.
Finding the site was relatively easy, although talking to other attendees, it would seem that plenty had shot past the entrance situated off a national speed limit route. Entering in through the big gates it wasn't clear where to go, but following the hard surface track led us to a collection of buildings and at first glance, a rough surfaced area which had tyres spread liberally around it.
Parking is adjacent to the main building and a disabled toilet isn't far away – strangely, it's only the men's that is accessible.
The main building houses a small classroom, where previous
candidates' exploits are displayed, and there is seating in front of a white board where it was obvious previous sessions had been explained. Diagrams of corners and braking points were scribbled on so I got an idea of what was in store. In the entrance to the classroom was a welcome smell of coffee but, sadly, there wasn't time and we were into the session straight away.
The group were introduced to Howard, who runs the site and is an experienced rally driver. He gave us some background to the existence of the site and introduced us to his colleagues who would be looking after the able bodied among us. We'd to remember three things as part of the day: the principles of cornering, slow in and fast out, traction, and coping with  oversteer/understeer
At the end of the session, Dave introduced himself to the less able among us and briefed us on the day. The first session would be on the gravel circuit – which is visible from the classroom on days of poor weather – or spectators can get close up and watch their partner's or relative's antics when it is fine. The second session would be on the tarmac track about half a mile away. For reasons of safety, helmets would be worn and were provided.
Great stuff, I thought, two sessions. It became clear from the instructor Dave employs that the first session would be an
instructed one with a timed run after four laps of familiarisation
with the car and circuit and the second would be four unguided laps with a timed run to check whether you'd been listening. There's something about being strapped into a rally car. Wearing a helmet didn't blank out any of the great sound of the 2.0 litre Vauxhall Astra automatic we were using with its race-tuned set-up. The car was fitted with Guidosimplex hand controls but could also be used as a conventional automatic.
We'd to keep the gear in third rather than drive and Dave's
colleague would guide us around the circuit.
We were soon bouncing across deep ruts and throwing stones for fun and trying to keep the car in a straight line, while taking on board what we're being told and surviving the circuit. Shouts of “power, power, power” along the straights soon became commonplace as was the strong tug on the handbrake to aid the cornering of the car – occasionally it seemed like ages before the car would grip and we'd be on our way again.
Howard had told us that time is lost if the wheels were simply
spinning; we'd to wait for the traction to pick up the pace.
Around the circuit I soon got the method – aim for the tyres to straighten the circuit, pick the dry sections on the corner, adhere to the quickest line, go in slowly and exit the corner as fast as possible. If the car loses grip, steer into the skid trying to catch it before it goes too far so that too much time isn't lost. I managed to post a time of 1 minute 03 seconds whereas the quickest was 58 seconds.
After lunch, which was provided, it was on to the tarmac circuit. We piled into our cars and it's a good job I was in the Toyota as a little off-road excursion took place – testing its offroad capability. We'll tell all in the forthcoming test.
When it was my turn, I got back into the Astra and had another circuit familiarisation session. This wholly tarmac circuit meant a completely different driving style was required, looking out for physical objects which formed braking points. The group also found a little dust on the circuit that could have made it difficult but we all managed to avoid it.
The circuit consisted of a sharp hairpin bend at the end of the first straight, a chicane and another hairpin which eventually led back to the start. I felt that this was more like a Formula One session, which we've all seen at some point or other: brake at the appropriate point, turn and more of that “power, power, power”. Tyres would howl as they scrabbled for grip and the car would be off again down the back straight.
Aim for the kerbs, I was told, which results in a straight line
through the corner. Using the final braking point on the final
corner meant the turn in took place straight afterwards, hugging
the kerb and running wide on the exit, powering the car all the time out of the corner. I managed a 1.16 on this occasion which wasn't the fastest but by no means the worst.
The day ended at around 3.30pm and, having seen some other cars go around the circuit, I knew how they felt – we all left with a huge grin on our faces.
You can find details of the location and more at www.pararallying.
com. If you want to go to a rally session, email Dave Hawkins at or visit his website.
You'll not be disappointed.
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